Congratulations To FITZMAGIC

He was fun to watch and gained so much of my respect after I didn't want him. He was never really horrible, but not great. He was very good this year. I loved his toughness and grit and LEADERSHIP. Always #FitzMagic

 

I enjoyed watching Fitz play, but I can't give a 10+ year vet a pass for the 4th quarter yesterday. If anything, it was a microcosm of why he has never led a team to the playoffs. Despite the Harvard pedigree, he is a gunslinger that takes too many unjustified chances during the course of a game. Let's be honest, this was literally the only "big" game he ever played with real playoff implications and he fell flat on his face. That it took him into his 30s to even find himself in that situation is alarming, but the way he reacted to it is even more troubling. He starts in 2016 but I suspect he will revert back to the norm for his career, which will be a less impressive year than this season.

As to the point of this thread, passing TDs are watered down in today's NFL. Teams don't run nearly as much in goal to go situations and passing TDs are way up all across the board. Some of his other stats are far less impressive - among the league leaders in INTs, YPA under 7, completion under 60, and 24th in passer rating. Fitz was no better than average throwing the ball in today's NFL, which is why I cannot put this season anywhere near Vinny in 98 or Chad in 02, when both of them were clearly top 5 QBs in the league that season. That said, Fitz was way better this season than anything we have seen in a long time, and he clearly deserves to be the starter in 2016.

 

There was no question that Fitzpatrick was the best QB the Jets had this season and fortunate he got take over when he did. Also can't question the 10-6 record was largely a result of his play. However, yesterday's game made it clear that Fitzpatrick doesn't have the strongest arm to be able to cope with adverse weather which is important if you want to win toward the end of the season. In my mind, Fitzpatrick isn't the answer at QB, he was a stopgap. I understand the desire to reward him with another year under center, but does anyone really think he can take us to the promised land? The search for the next Jets franchise QB needs to continue. The longer it's delayed, the longer the hunt for the title will be.

 

Lots of people are pissed at Fitz for yesterday and I get that. However; think about what this season likely would have been if we were faced with Geno Smith for 16 games. 8-8 would have been a miracle.

 

That first interception was a critical error by Fitz, but the next one was because of pressure in his face, not necessarily a bad decision as he had Marshall wide open. If the defense stopped Buffalo when they should have there was more than enough time to correct that error. And I'll take one red-zone interception for the whole year.

If we were told at the start of the season that the Jets QB would throw for nearly 4,000 yards and 31 TD's, most of us would have assumed given the "elite" defense that the Jets went deep in the playoffs and maybe the Super Bowl. The defense didn't rise to the challenge.

 

In today's NFL, 4,000 yards and 30 TDs doesn't mean as much as it used to mean. They are noteworthy numbers but you don't necessarily stand out from the crowd when you hit them. Accuracy, efficiency, and turnovers are still very important, and Fitz did not fare well in those categories. For the first time in many years, we had an average passing attack (as opposed to the typical bottom 5 passing attack we have seen since 2009), although it seemed a lot better than average because we have a top 5 WR and a top 25 WR, and they continually made awesome plays. Our D was maybe not as great as advertised, but good enough for us to have claimed a playoff spot. In a big game, we fell short at QB, it is definitely fair to say that.

I don't want to pile on though, Fitz had a very nice season and it was refreshing to get generally competent to good QB play.

 

With Eugene we don't win countless number of games. We don't beat Indy in Indy, the Giants, Dolphins in London, Skins, Pats, Cowboys, etc.

But while I agree Fitz had a 4th quarter to forget, it should have never been that close or that way. Too many other factors to put sole blame on our QB.

 

I think that the comment is valid, this year there were 11 QB's that threw for +30 TD's. So its not exactly a unique thing to do. Here is the list this year:

Brady (36), Bortles, Eli, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer (all tied with 35), Russell Wilson (34), Drew Brees, Derek Carr, Matt Stafford (all with 32) and then Fitz tied with Aaron Rogers at 31 TD's.

The fact is that the Jets grabbed Fitz off the scrap heap and for a 6th round pick and minimal $$ were able to get very good production. He was better than Phillip Rivers, Jay Cutler, Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco.. These are all franchise QB's most on this board would have killed to have on the Jets at the start of the season.

 

He's not Aaron Rodgers, but he had a great year. Unfortunately, he'll be remembered for that one pass he shouldn't have thrown to Decker. He should been super careful at that point b/c the Jets were in position to get the go-ahead field goal. Oh well. I enjoyed watching him and he's a great leader. The team loves him. I'm looking forward to watching him next season.

 

For instance in 1967, Joe Namath (the very first 4K QB) had 26TDs that was the 5th MOST TD passes that year.

Lam

 

Spot on. A realistic portrayal imo.

 

Great post and thank you....

 

I definitely agree that there is too much negativity on this board. That said, I don't think WhySoSerious488 is being negative. I think his comments are very fair, reasonable, and balanced. While it was a great season as far as Jets QBs are concerned, that's primarily because we have had such god-awful QBs during most of our history. As compared to other QBs in the NFL, it's not nearly as special. It was great for us, kept us in the hunt, and I'm glad he was here, and hope he'll be back. He should give us solid play and leadership again next season. I don't think he will get us into the playoffs, however. If STs are significantly better and if the Jets can somehow improve the speed, coverage and pass rush ability of their LB corps, then yes, his play should be good enough, but the schedule looks to be tough.

 

Your response is TOTALLY uncalled for. He's not trashing Fitz or disparaging his accomplishment, merely putting them in context with the rest of the NFL. It's no secret that most of the QBs who have played for the Jets sucked balls and were beyond terrible. It's pathetic that we had never had a QB throw for 31 TDs or never had a 1,ooo yard receiver. Part of that is due to the fact that running the ball used to be more important, but mostly to the sorry jokers who have played QB for the Jets. It was a fun and exciting season thanks to Fitz, but if one is not gonna delude one's self and be realistic, Fitz is not an elite QB and isn't going to carry us into the playoffs. If this team makes it into the playoffs next season, it will be because the STs are dramatically better, and Mac found a way to dramatically improve the speed, coverage and pass rush ability of the LB corps.

 

There wasn't a single instance in his entire post that gave anything remotely close to credit to Fitzpatrick. He puts them in context with the rest of the NFL, but is that the purpose of this thread? I think not. He then shifts focus to the franchise as a whole. Idc how bad the position has been. The QB position has been a part of the Jets for 50 years and Fitz just broke the record. Coming from a die-hard fan that should be impressive. Since Fitz didn't throw for 40 TDs it shouldn't be considered "impressive"? Btw you don't need an elite QB to carry you to the playoffs. Fitz was one game away from doing it. The vast majority of QBs currently in the playoffs couldn't have carried their team there. They had ample amount of help from their OL and stellar defense. So yes, Fitz will never be Tom Brady. Aside from him no other QB carried his team in.